Classes, Cases, and Chambers
by lishbug
Summary: Things seem to come together for Olivia and Alex. Broken Olivia 6, series completed
1. Default Chapter

**A/N:** Here we have it people. The next installment of my little crazy series. Now if you're new to my little SVU world, I'll fill you in. It all started with Like Father, Like Mother, Like Me. Then we asked the question of Who Am I? Then we saw the Start of Something Good. Then we spent The Weekend From Hell. After that we were Falling Up. And then we took another look at Who Am I? Again, which answered a few questions, well ones that I had. Now we are starting our next part of this saga with Classes, Cases and Chambers.

**Summary:** Things continue on in the life of Olivia, she continues to grow within herself. We see how things progress with her relationships with the different people in her life. This story will also have more an emphasis on Alex, and what she is up to know that she is back.

Classes, Cases, and Chambers 

**1.**

Olivia Benson sat in the back of a lecture hall at Hudson University. The professor was going on about how the midterm would be set up.

A few stragglers came in.

Olivia noticed one of them, a young Hispanic man she kept her eye on him. He sat in the front row. Eyes fixated on the professor. A few of the other students gave him sideways glances, like they had never seen him before.

Glancing at her watch she sighed, her shift started at 11:00 it was now 9:35.

She and Fin had been partnered up all week on a low profile, but intense case. They spent long nights going over evidence and talking to the victim her family and a few suspects. Last night they nailed him. Cragen told them to come in for a late start shift on Thursday. This worked perfect for Olivia.

Another student straggled into the room through the back door and took a seat next to Olivia.

"What did I miss," she whispered.

"Midterm info, she is starting her lecture now."

The professor looked up that way and glared at them.

"Have something to say ladies?"

"No" was the simultaneous response.

Olivia blushed slightly. Damn, she though, there was no way she could do this now. She focused on the job and she could feel the heat reduce.

Olivia returned her attention back to the young Hispanic man in the front.

The suspect was moving in his seat a little, she was keeping an eye on his hands. They seem to have produced an object, she couldn't do anything until she was sure it wasn't a writing utensil.

The professor had started putting up overheads of different forms that were needed to be filled out at the police station. From what Olivia could tell, they were on the topic of processing, and what roles the District Attorney and the Defense Attorney had during the first part of the process. The midterm was about what a prosecutor was what a defense attorney was, what the different parts of the system were called and how they worked. Now they were getting into how everything worked together.

There it was, just as the professor had turned her attention to the over-head projector the kid made his move. He grabbed reached the woman and pulled a knife on her, grabbing her from behind. She let out a yelp and became rigid. The students in the class sat shocked for a moment. Then they started to scramble a bit.

Olivia got up quickly, as the event was happening.

"NYPD! Everyone just calm down."

She took a few more steps down toward the front of the hall.

"Sir your going to have to give me that knife."

"No, she has to pay."

" Sir we can talk about this, I'm sure there is another way."

"No, she sent my brother away. He got a kid, and a woman to support."

"Listen, you don't want to do this. Hurting an Assistant District Attorney is no way to take care of it."

"No! it has to be this way."

"Listen, what's your name son."

"Miguel. Miguel Sandoval"

"Alright Miguel, lets give me the knife okay."

She inched closer to the confrontation. The entire class was silent behind them, they couldn't believe what was happening.

Miguel brought the knife tighter to the ADA. Olivia drew her weapon.

"Miguel, you don't want it to go down like this, not in front of all these people."

She inched a little closer once she thought that Miguel wouldn't push the knife any further.

She grasped his hand and drew it and the knife away from the ADA's throat. His hand went limp and she was able to take the weapon away. She reached behind her and unclipped her cuffs and replaced her gun. Turning him around she placed the cuffs around his wrists.

She placed a hand on the ADA's shoulder. "Ma'am, do you need any assistance."

"No, I think I'll be okay." Olivia nodded.

"Miguel Sandoval, you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will…" the door shut behind Olivia and Miguel as they waited out in the hall.

"Nice job Sandoval, had me convinced." Olivia took her keys and undid his cuffs.

"Well I did minor in theater when I was in college."

"Theater?"

"Hey it came in handy didn't it."

"Yeah." Olivia's face lit up in a smile.

**/Meanwhile inside the hall/**

"What just happened here?" the professor asked as the door shut behind Olivia and Miguel.

"Oh my God Professor Cabot are you okay?" One student in the front row asked with panic in her voice.

"Yes I'm fine." Alex smiled at her students. "What just happened here?"

"You were attacked. And that police officer got him." Another student spoke up.

"Right, what do you suppose she was doing here."

"She was tracking him I bet." A young man from the back surmised.

"Alright, so our officer was following a lead?" Alex questioned her students.

"Yeah." The students answered.

"Okay, what is going to happen now?"

"She like takes him down to the station place and like start questioning and processing him." A girl from the second row gave the answer. Alex cringed, she was a really smart girl but she needed to learn how to articulate if she was going to be a lawyer.

"That's right."

"Okay guys lets have them back in here shall we." Alex knocked on the door, as if it were the interrogation door.

"You mean they are still here?" the girl who asked if she was okay, said as the door opened again and Olivia and Miguel re-entered the room.

"This here is Detective Olivia Benson with NYPD SVU Manhattan." She walked up to Olivia.

Then she moved over to Miguel.

"And this, Is Detective Miguel Sandoval with NYPD Narcotics Manhattan."

"You tricked us?" a student asked.

"No, I was doing a demonstration about how officers react to situations. We talked about last class about how an arrest was made, this is one scenario that could happen."

"What about the knife?" A student asked.

"It was an Academy training tool." Miguel took out the knife again and displayed that it was a fake, a realistic looking fake.

"Was the gun really loaded?"

"No, this is also an Academy training tool, if I were to fire it there would just be some smoke from a reaction that simulates the kickback of a gun." Olivia answered the student.

"What is the rest of the speech you were giving as you were leaving."

Olivia looked at Alex with a questioning gaze.

"We talked about it three weeks ago. You tell me." Alex told the student.

"I wasn't here." The kid looked down at his feet, caught.

"Well maybe your classmates could help you out."

"They were the Miranda Rights." Another student spoke up from the back.

"Right." Olivia told them. "We have to carry a card with us, and produce it when we are giving them the rights. It says here on the card: 'You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law, you have the right to an attorney, if you can not afford that right one will be appointed to you, do you understand these rights."

"Do you have to memorize them."

"It helps." Miguel answered.

"Well class is almost over so why don't you go a little early today and I'll see you next Tuesday, keep up with the reading" Alex added quickly as almost everyone fled the lecture hall at once. Others stayed behind taking their time.

Alex started gathering up her things. She turned to Olivia.

"Thank you so much for doing this."

"Hey it was fun, and besides nice excuse to see you. We haven't seen each other is days."

"Yeah I know, do you have time for a late lunch?"

"No actually I don't I got a call from Cragen that when my shift starts I have to meet Elliot on the lower east side to question a new case, he is gathering the info right now."

"How about dinner?" Alex asked hopefully, she felt that they needed to talk, just see each other.

Olivia thought for a moment leaving Alex in suspense, "Yeah, my place, yours, out?"

"Your place sounds good, mines a mess."

"What makes you think mine is any better."

"I know how you are after a bad case, clean then bath then bed."

"Alright, you got me." Olivia swatted at Alex's arm.

Alex looked at her watch. "SHIT."

"What's wrong?" Olivia asked alarmed.

"I have to be in Judge Petrovsky's chambers in 30 minutes about Munch and Elliot's case from last week, we finally made it through jury selection and now there is a problem with some of our evidence according to the defense and were are having an in-chambers meeting, ahhh, I have to go, I'll leave a message on your cell about later." Alex said in one big breath and breezed out of the room.

"Okay," Olivia called out to the fleeing ADA.

"Ready Benson." Miguel asked.

"As ever."

The two of them headed out side and climbed into a sedan. Heading back to first Narcotics for Miguel then over to SVU for Olivia. The day was going to drag, she could feel it already.

A/N: Well its kinda short compared to some of the stuff I write. I just wanted to get this out I guess. Don't worry the story is not going to be three or four (as I'm known for) chapters of just one day, however the next chapter will start with…. Cabot getting to Petrovsky's chambers (You know I have to have that conversation in there.) so in other words stay tuned.


	2. two

**A/N:** If you are confused or don't really know what is going on this is a continuation of a **Series that I'm writing**. See the first Authors Note for the details.** Important: I'm bringing back people from Like Father…., **Bev Jones and her children Petey and Becky. And our friend Dr. Valez. And remembering events that happened in earlier stories.

And a special shout out to all those reviewers that have been reviewing since Like Father, Like Mother, Like Me through Falling Up: SVU Chicky, Pitaqueen, and Jess.

And yay for the rest of you reviewers.

Classes, Cases, and Chambers 

**2.**

Alexandra Cabot hates to be late, on time is cutting it short in her book. She breezed into Petrovsky's Chambers 3 minutes late. It may not seem like a big deal for the average person but in this profession it was not a good thing.

"Alexandra, nice of you to join us. I would hate to have to hold you in contempt of court… again."

"Sorry Your Honor."

Petrovsky nodded as Alex slid into a seat.

"Alright, let's get down to business. What seems to be the problem here."

"The Prosecution has obtained illegal evidence on my client." The young defense attorney started right off.

"I hardly would call the evidence in question illegal." Alex turned to look at the attorney.

"It was taken from the defendant's room out of his apartment."

"First off the apartment doesn't belong to him. It is under the name of his parents, who up until they were informed of this were staying upstate, in their house. We had their permission. Second of all we had a warrant for the things that we took."

"My client had no idea about these circumstances."

"You would have known had you read your file that you received all the documentation of the seizure was there, including a copy of the warrant."

Petrovsky took this moment to intervene, "Sir, I suggest that you read all material that the prosecution has given you, and that you fully talk to your client before you start making claims like this, it is a waste of everyone's time."

She looked at both of them for a minute, "You're dismissed, I'll see you both in court tomorrow afternoon."

"Yes Ma'am." The defense attorney stormed out of chambers.

"Alexandra, hold on a minute." Petrovsky called her back to face her.

"Let's not make this late thing a habit, I realize it was only a few moments. But don't make me make you choose; I hear from my colleagues at the college that you are an incredible teacher. And I know that you're one great prosecutor. It would be a shame to give up one. You could help shape the future with your teaching."

Alex was a little taken aback with the praise. "Thank you Ma'am." She decided on a smile.

Alex returned to her office to prepare for some work. She had a court date around 1:30 to go over some evidence that the defense had found, on another case. She didn't figure that it would be a long event.

The phone rang as she was packing her brief case again.

"Cabot."

"Professor Cabot, this is Neil Grange, I was wondering if you had time to meet later today about the paper that we have due for class next week?"

"Hmm, Neil, I have court at 1:30 that I'm running off to right now but it shouldn't take that long, I could probably meet you at 3:15 in my office at the college. Do you have a number that I could reach you at incase I can't make it."

"Yeah that sounds great my number is 555-4873. Thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule to see me."

"No problem Neil I'll see you later this afternoon."

Alex made her way onto the elevator and off toward Judge Peterson's courtroom.

**/Meanwhile with Olivia/**

Olivia pulled up behind Elliot's sedan on the street were Cragen told her to meet him. Elliot got out of his car and met her between he two on the sidewalk.

"We have a situation." Elliot said rubbing the back of his head.

"What kind of situation." Olivia replied while looking up at the apartment building.

"Well she won't let us up. I talked to her, through the speaker but she won't let me in."

"Hmm, well maybe she'll let me in." Olivia walked toward the front of the building.

Elliot shrugged, maybe the woman would be more receptive to his partner. Elliot rang the buzzer for her.

"What now?" an irritated voice came over the little box.

"Ma'am this is Detective Olivia Benson…"

"Like I told the other cop I'm not interested now go away… I have things to do."

Olivia sighed and leaned her head against the bricks of the building…

All of a sudden there was a tug on her sleeve. She looked down to see where it was coming from.

"Hi Detective Olivia." A little voice called up to her.

"Hi Petey." Olivia said with a new big smile pasted on her face. "What are you doing here."

"I'm so sorry, about that Olivia." A Woman came rushing up to the young boy with a little girl in tow.

"That's alright, Bev" Olivia smiled at the young family.

"We were coming to visit Grandma and Grandpa."

"Do they live here?" Olivia asked hopefully.

"Yeah on the first floor, wheelchair access apartment, why?"

"Could we follow you into the building, we need to get in."

"Yeah, of course." Bev answered as she looked at the agitated detectives.

Bev buzzed her parents and they let all five of them in. Olivia thanked her friends. Then she and Elliot shot up to the second floor to Apartment 21.

Olivia approached the door with caution. It was partly open. She knocked on it as she let it fall completely open.

"Go away." The woman inside the apartment shouted.

"Ma'am I'm just here to help you. I'm not going to hurt you." Olivia still moving with caution, entered the living room.

"I told you I don't need any help."

Olivia looked to the corner of the living room. A young woman was sat huddled with her knees to her chest, her dark brown hair cascading in front of her.

"Honey, we can help you out if you just let us. My partner is still outside, it's just you and me."

"No, I don't want any help, no one can help me." The woman pulled away from her position. As she did this she pulled a gun out of her lap.

Olivia instinctively reached for her own gun.

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to put that gun away."

"You can't help me…"

"Put the gun down."

"I can't do that." She pulled the gun on herself.

Olivia dropped her own weapon, everything moved in slow motion. She moved toward the woman. The woman had shot herself in the thigh. As Olivia moved closer she turned the gun on her.

"No, stay away." She let a shot off.

Elliot had entered the room after the first shot was heard. He watched as the second shot grazed Olivia's jacket at her shoulder. Olivia flattened herself on the ground and didn't move. Elliot was fumbling with the radio.

"This is Elliot Stabler with SVU we have an Officer Down and we need a bus for a victim gun shot wound…" he rattled off the address of they were located and moved to check on his partner. The woman was still brandishing her weapon, but she was getting weak.

"Liv? how bad did it get you."

"It's just a scratch, El." Olivia continued to lay on the floor.

"Liv it looks kinda bad." He noticed some blood.

"El I'm fine." Olivia started to get irritated.

Just then the Paramedics were coming into the room.

Two raced over to the woman in the corner and one attended to Olivia. Together they eased her leather jacket off. The shoulder was torn. Her blue shirt was a mess. The paramedic cut that away from her shoulder, carefully.

Elliot went to check on the other patient, to give his partner some privacy. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, too much blood loss, she had hit a main artery in her leg, if she hadn't gotten the shot off on Olivia when she did it wouldn't have happened because she would have been too weak, then gone, there was nothing that could have been done.

They took Olivia to the hospital. They also took the woman to the morgue at the hospital to do tests on her, to see if they had a rape on their hands.

On arrival to the hospital Olivia was rushed into the back. Elliot after following the ambulance with his sedan, called Cragen and then arranged for his partners Sedan to be picked up. Elliot got permission to enter the back and found his partner. She was not a happy camper.

"Look its no big deal, just give me a band-aide and let me out of here." Olivia said to one of the nurses.

"Listen Detective, Dr. Roberson is going to need to take a look at this."

"That won't be necessary." Olivia stated with pure agitation in her voice.

"Olivia," Elliot said as he entered the room. "Just do as they say. You're worse then my kids."

"El, you know how much I hate hospitals, and I keep finding myself back at this particular one."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Elliot went out to wait in the hall. He looked down and saw a familiar face. He walked up to the woman at the nurses' station.

"Dr. Valez?" he asked.

"Yes. How can I help you sir." She said looking up at him from her seated position.

"I'm Detective Elliot Stabler, we met back in February, I'm Olivia Benson's partner."

"Oh yes, is everything okay." Dr. Valez asked with concern.

"Well, no. Olivia was shot at a scene and she won't let the nurse or doctor… um Roberson help her out. I was wondering if maybe a familiar person may help."

"Sure, I'm almost done with this, let me just… okay let's go." She said as she tossed the chart in the finished box and followed Elliot to Olivia's bed.

When they arrived Dr. Roberson was also arriving. "Jeff, she is one of my patients, why don't you let me take her." Dr. Valez held her hand out for the chart.

The nurse looked a little scared for a minute, "Fine, at least this way I can have my lunch." The other doctor stormed off. The nurse relaxed visibly and Dr. Valez shook her head.

"He is such a pleasant person."

"I see." Elliot's gaze followed the man down the hall.

"Alright let me see here." She said as they all entered the curtain area around Olivia's bed.

"Dr. Valez?" Olivia looked surprised to see the other woman.

"Your concerned partner found me out in the hall." Dr. Valez smiled at her patient.

Olivia smiled back and visible relaxed as she watched the doctor wash her hands and pull on some gloves.

Dr. Valez pealed the bandage from the ambulance carefully away from the wound. She looked it over of a few seconds then threw the bandage away.

"Okay Olivia, you're lucky here, you just have a superficial wound. It will take a little more than a week to heal. It shouldn't really effect your work if you're worried about that. I'll give you some Tylenol for the pain and some antibiotics to hold off any infection. Right now though we are going to clean it out with some saline then get some antibiotics right on it and bandage it back up. I'll give you some extra gauze, tape and cream. Okay."

"Okay."

Olivia let herself get comfortable for the process. Dr. Valez and the nurse set to work. It seemed like not that long ago she was sitting in this same ER getting her hand fixed. So much had changed since that fateful day.

As the doctor gave Olivia the last of the medication bottles Cragen came rushing into the ER.

"Oh My God, Olivia are you okay." He said as he came to a stop just inside the bed area.

"I'm fine captain, I just want to get back to work." Olivia said putting on Elliot's Suit coat that he offered her when she looked depressingly at her leather jacket.

"I'm not sure that is such a good idea detective. You watched a woman shoot herself in the leg then shoot at you, I think you should go home." Cragen looked at her with intense worry on his face.

"Cap, I want to go back to the precinct get the spare shirt out of my locker and find out why this woman had to shoot herself. I'm not going home, I won't sleep until I have some answers."

"Liv I don't think your going to be sleeping anyway." Elliot spoke up.

"No, El I probably won't sleep anyway, but at least I can get some understanding if I know."

Olivia got up and moved toward the doors to the ER, exiting and entering the passenger seat of the sedan.

Elliot climbed into the driver's seat and Cragen, who took a cab to get there, climbed into the back for the trip back to the precinct. They rode in silence the entire way.

**/A few hours later with Alex/**

Alex sat in traffic on her way back to Hudson University. The cars were creeping along. It was 3, she left the court house 15 minutes ago, she should be pulling into the faculty lot right now. She hated rush hour traffic. She flipped on the radio, nothing good, she flicked it off and tapped her hands on the wheel. The sea of cars eased forward a few more feet. Well at least she could see the University now. At the first entrance to the facility she got off the main road. Traffic on the main roads of the campus went a lot smoother. She eased her car into the space near the Criminal Justice and Law building. She left her brief case in the car, locked it and headed into the building. Her heals clicked down the hall as she hastily made her way toward room number 124, her office.

"Professor Sands…. Professor Sands….Professor…. Cabot." A girl called out down the hall behind Alex.

Alex looked at her watch as she turned around, it was 3:13 she was running late for the second time that day.

"Can I help you." She said as she continued to turn around.

When she saw who it was her face lit up. "Amanda?"

"Yeah, sorry I couldn't get your attention, I forgot what your new…er old name was. The secretary of the department said your office was down this way and that I could leave a note for you. She said you were not around often after your class was done for the day."

"No it's okay Amanda, I'm sorry I wasn't paying more attention, I never did get use to being Jennifer Sands. Listen I'm meeting with a student, right now, I'm running late, so how about you come down this way and I'll talk to you when I'm done."

"Alright."

Amanda follows Alex around the corner where a young man is waiting against the wall.

"Sorry Neil traffic was horrible from the courthouse. Lets get started shall we." She spoke as she unlocked her office and the two of them entered.

Twenty minutes later they are finished with their meeting. Neil was very relieved that he was on the right track and Alex was more than happy to help. She really did love being a professor. Maybe when her prosecuting days were through she would do more teaching. She motioned for Amanda to come into her office.

"So how long have you been in town?" Alex asked sitting behind her desk looking around at the drabbness of it.

"I just got in on Sunday, I was settling in with my cousin. I start at NYU in the fall but I got an internship for a law office in Manhattan, they do mostly corporate stuff."

"That's great. I'm so glad you were able to get in." Thinking of the nervous student she had when she was in Witness Protection. Teaching was the only thing that kept her going while she was away from NYC.

"Me too. Do you have any plans tonight."

"Well I'm having dinner at my friend's place tonight."

"Ahh well maybe we could have dinner some night."

"I'm sure that can be arranged."

"Cool."

"Well I'm meeting my cousin in a bout an hour, so I should get going. Here is my cell number if you want to get a hold of me." Amanda handed Alex a piece of paper.

"Thank you, here is my card, I don't have one for the college but it would have the same contact info on it." Alex handed Amanda a card from her desk.

"Wow… Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot…SVU Manhattan. Impressive."

"Thank you, don't be afraid to use it."

"I won't thank you Professor Cabot."

"Your welcome Amanda."

Amanda made her way out of the office and back into the hectic rush of New York City.

Alex sighed and sat behind her desk for a few more minutes. She dug out her phone and dialed the familiar number.

The voice mail picked up. "You've reached Olivia Benson leave a message."

"Hey Liv, I'm cutting out a little early," She glanced at her watch, nice, "It's 4 now so I should be at your place at 5 I'm going to stop and pick up dinner, I'll see you when you get there."

She gathered herself from behind her desk and left the campus, hoping she could make decent time in this traffic.

**/Meanwhile with Olivia/**

"Olivia, get in here!" Cragen shouted from his office.

Elliot watched his partner stalk into their captain's office and slam the door.

"What is wrong with you Olivia?" Cragen asked as he rounded the desk and sat on the front of it.

"I was just trying to get some information out of the ME."

"Well Warner has called me to complain, she nor her technicians have to take the attitude that you're giving." Cragen frowned at the detective.

"I was not giving attitude." Olivia crossed her arms in an adolescent defiance way.

"I think telling them that you would come down there and take care of it yourself if they didn't have the information on your desk last week is a bit of an attitude. Warner didn't take kindly to you slamming the phone down in her ear well either. They are working as fast as they can."

Olivia didn't say anything.

"Olivia maybe you should go home, you've had a rough day, go straight home, have a glass of wine and take a rest."

Olivia relaxed her arms a little and fell into a chair across from Cragen's desk.

"She shot her self, Don. She didn't want us to help, she just shot herself, in the leg, she died of a self inflicted gun shot wound to the leg. I should have done something. I should have shot the gun out of her hand, something."

"Olivia there is nothing you could have done, she didn't want your help, she didn't' want anyone's help."

"Cap, I don't know how I do this job anymore."

"Don't say that Olivia, you're a fantastic Detective, your great with the victims, especially the kids. Maybe you just need some real time off, not a medical leave, some real vacation time."

"I don't know." Olivia said tears in her eyes.

The phone rang in Cragen's office.

"Cragen…. I see, yes thank you, I'll be sure to tell her, yes… yes… okay. Thank you."

"Was that Warner."

"Yes, our woman was raped, she also showed signs of past abuse, physical and possibly sexual."

"Okay… I'm going home."

Olivia got up and started to leave the building. Cragen patted her shoulder as she left the room

"If you want time off tomorrow just take it, I don't expect to see you."

Olivia nodded as she went to her desk picked up her torn jacket, things from the ER in the pockets and left the precinct and caught a cab home.

Once she got home she trudged up the stairs to her apartment. She took out her keys and opened the door. The spicy smells of Italian cooking hit her as she shut the door behind her.

Alex rounded the corner to the entryway and took one look at the detective.

"Olivia, are you okay."

Olivia just shook her head, no, a few tears spilling down her cheeks as she tossed her coat on the floor. Alex rushed forward and wrapped her in a warm hug. Olivia winced as she pressed into her hurt shoulder.

"Oh my God, what happened." Alex held Olivia by the upper arms in front of her to look her over.

**A/N: **I'm leaving the chapter here, cause I really want to get this up. This story will probably be 4 chapters, not my standard of 3. There is just so much that I want to cover. Thank you for reading my series, I am having a really good time writing it. Until the next chapter, leave reviews, they make my days.


	3. three

**A/N:** It continues… WARNING: discussion of Suicide.

**Classes, Cases, and Chambers**

**3.**

"It was not a good day." Olivia's chin quivered as she spoke.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Alex looked into Olivia's eyes, there was a new look there, Alex couldn't quite place it.

Olivia shook her head, "No not just yet, I just want to sit down and maybe try to eat something. I need to take some medication." She gestured toward her jacket that was laying in a heap on the floor.

Alex released Olivia and bent down and to pick up the jacket. When she saw the shoulder she gasped. "Oh God." She whispered. She looked back at Olivia who was still standing there, head down. She gathered the things out of the pocket and they left to the kitchen. Olivia sat down hard with a sigh. Alex scooped some pasta and sauce onto the plate in front of Olivia and some onto her own plate. Olivia took a few bites of pasta and bread, then she twisted open the various bottles of medication and took them with the water that was sitting at her place. Alex watched as the scene played out across the table. She took a few bites of food herself.

When Olivia was finished with the water she placed her head in her hands and shut her eyes. Alex finished picking at her food then started clearing. The whole time she kept a watchful eye on Olivia. She really wanted to hear what was wrong, but she knew better then to push, Olivia would talk when she was ready. As Alex put the last dish on the drying rack, Olivia moved.

"I…" Olivia took off toward the bathroom. She didn't quite make it. She sat on the floor in the bathroom. Crying in frustration and sickness.

Alex was moving toward the bathroom when she heard the sound of Olivia getting sick. She paused in the doorway, she really wished that Olivia would talk about the day. She quietly got a cool wet washcloth and brushed it carefully over Olivia's face cleaning her up. Then she got another damp cloth and placed it on her head. She set about cleaning up the floor, it only took a few moments. After washing her hands she turned back to the detective on the floor.

"Shhh, it will all be okay." She sat down next to Olivia gathering her up in her arms. Her heart was breaking for this woman.

"No, no it won't. I can't do this anymore Alex." Olivia cried into the embrace.

"Do what Honey?" Alex asked softly as she soothingly ran her hand through Liv's hair.

"The job." Olivia tried to move and look Alex in the eyes.

"No Liv. You're so good at what you do." She looked Liv back in the eyes.

"Alex, I… I just don't think I can anymore. It takes too much of me."

"What else would you do?" Alex asked kindly.

"I… I don't know yet." Olivia looked away, she never thought of being anything other then a cop, helping the helpless victims.

"Maybe you should just take some real time off."

"That's what Cragen said."

"Well he is right."

"We'll see."

Alex leaned in to hug Olivia and accidentally brushed the bandages beneath her shirt.

Olivia cried out in pain.

"Liv, are you going to tell me what happened today?" she asked softly.

Olivia looked at Alex for a moment, deciding how she wanted to tell her. She let out a shaky sigh then started.

"El and I took a call after your class. The woman didn't want our help. She had been raped, her apartment broken into and raped. We got into the building and found her apartment. She pulled a gun on her self, shot herself……. In the leg. As I moved forward, in one swift motion, she got a shot off toward me before she lay the gun down for good. The bullet grazed my jacket… it didn't do much damage to my shoulder really, mostly just a burn and a slight graze. My jacket took the brunt of it, but you saw that already."

Olivia looked up at Alex as she finished. Alex had tears silently rolling down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry Alex, I should have called you, told you as soon as I walked in, something. I just, Alex I don't know. I'm so sorry." Olivia started crying again. She hated being this vulnerable.

"Shhh, Liv it will be okay, everything will turn out okay." She stroked Olivia's back as tears continued to stream down her face.

"Alex, she shot herself because she didn't think there was anyway we could help her. Warner found out that she had a long history of abuse against her, physical and sexual, probably emotional too. She shot at me, because I tried to help. Alex I don't know if I can do this anymore."

"Olivia, think of all the people you have helped that have been grateful. The cases that have been successful. Olivia think of all the people that will not be helped if you quit."

"There are other SVU Detectives."

"No Olivia, there is only one Detective Benson, you care, you care about the victims you care about the justice that they deserve and you care about their emotions. Not a lot of detectives share that passion. You get it, you understand. Don't throw this away because one victim didn't want your help."

"I don't know."

"Well how about you don't make any decisions while your taking that really strong pain meds okay." Alex said before kissing the top of Olivia's head.

"Okay."

"Come on why don't you get in the shower and I'll tuck you into bed before I go home." Alex started to help Olivia up.

"Alex?" Olivia looked down at the floor, gripping the sink counter.

"Hmm?"

"Can you stay tonight, I don't want to be alone."

"Sure, of course." Alex rubbed a small circle against Olivia's back.

Olivia nodded, the medicine was making her head heavy. She didn't feel so bad at work, but the adrenaline of searching for the answers had also worn off.

"Come on I'll help you." Alex moved to turn on and adjust the water.

She then turned toward the detective who still had a death grip on the counter. She undid the buttons to Olivia's shirt and removed it carefully to not disrupt her shoulder. She then undid her belt and Olivia stepped out of her pants and underwear. Alex unclipped Olivia's bra and dropped it with the other clothes. She tested the water and helped Olivia step into the shower.

Olivia let the water hit her face. The spray felt good trickling down her body. It reminded her that she was indeed still alive, tears slipped out of her eyes, she didn't think that she had anymore tears left in her. She was so wrapped up in the feel of the spray that it startled her when the soapy washcloth was placed on her back. She jumped slightly.

Alex had entered the shower too and was carefully lathering up the detective. When she was finished with that she shampooed Olivia's hair and then positioned her under the water to rinse off.

Olivia let Alex tend to her, she was emotionally and physically exhausted. As Alex massaged the shampoo into her hair she enjoyed the sensation of someone else washing her hair. It sent relaxing waves over her entire body.

Alex reached around the detective and twisted the knobs of the shower off. She then grabbed one of the fluffy towels off the rack. She wrapped Olivia in one and patted her dry before grabbing a second one for herself and patted herself dry.

This wasn't exactly how Alex imagined their first shower to be like, but she was happy that she could help Olivia. Contrary to the water-cooler talk that she was sure was happening at the precinct between the other detectives behind Alex and Olivia's back, they had not actually been "sleeping" together, or living together. Alex stayed the night on occasion, but they still each had their own lives. They had been taking it slow since the morning that they were so rudely interrupted by the alarm clock. They had been enjoying getting to know one another on all levels. Dealing with life as it came their way. Alex mused, while she changed the bandage on Olivia's shoulder, wincing internally as she saw the ruined skin.

Alex directed the two of them into the bedroom. She pulled out some clothes for Olivia and helped her into them, then pulled a bag that she kept some extra clothes for herself, when she occasionally stayed the night and dressed herself.

Olivia climbed into bed and Alex tucked her in. She then went back out and turned out all the lights and cleaned up from the shower before returning to the bedroom. She climbed into bed and pulled Olivia close.

"Thank you." Olivia finally whispered before falling asleep, in the arms of Alex.

**/3 in the morning/**

Alex awoke suddenly, she was confused for a moment. The evening quickly replayed in that moment.

Olivia was still sleeping, shaking in her sleep. That was what woke Alex. She gathered Olivia closer to her and threw the blankets back up over them. Olivia continued to shake.

"Shh, Liv, it will be okay, shh, rest quietly." She lightly rubbed Olivia's arms and back as she spoke softly, trying to calm the other woman.

Olivia slowly calmed down. Alex drifted back into a light sleep. She understood now the look in Olivia's eyes earlier in the evening. It was the look that used to great Alex when she was in Witness Protection, early on.

**/6 in the morning/**

Alex woke again. Olivia had kicked all the blankets to the floor. Alex sighed and climbed out of bed. She gathered up the bedclothes and carefully tucked them back around Olivia. Then she went to the kitchen for a glass of juice. As she was leaning on the counter thinking a card caught her attention. Dr. Mays' card, it said you could call as early as 6 am on Monday and Wednesdays. Alex picked it up and turned it over, giving it a few flicks of her finger, in thought, before reaching for the phone.

"Dr. Mays' office, how may I help you."

"Hello I was wondering if I could make an appointment for my friend this afternoon."

"Let me see. We have an opening tomorrow at 2pm."

"Is there anyway she could get in today."

"Dr. Mays keeps an hour for emergency appointments but those are reserved for only certain groups of patients."

"Ah, I see." She was uncertain if Olivia was in any of those categories.

"Would you like to speak to Dr. Mays she just walked in."

"Sure." Alex heard the muffled sounds of talking before the phone was handed over.

"Hello I'm Dr. Mays, you want to make an appointment for a friend."

"Yes, I believe she is a patient of yours."

"What is your name?"

"Alexandra Cabot."

"Hold on a second, Alexandra."

A few moments passed.

"Okay who is your friend?" Dr. Mays asked politely.

"Olivia Benson." Alex normally would be getting irritated but she knew what the Doctor was doing.

"Ahh yes, of course, she can come in at 3, is everything okay. She has you down on her privacy contract."

"Oh really, hmm, well Dr. Mays I'm not so sure, she doesn't know I've made this appointment, she is sleeping finally."

"Oh I see, well we'll talk when she gets here. Thank you for looking out for her."

"No thank you. I'll bring her in myself this afternoon."

"Alright see you later, bye."

"Bye."

Alex hung up the phone and finished her juice, it was warm. She placed the glass in the sink and ventured back to the bedroom.

Olivia was still sleeping so Alex went to take a shower and change. After pulling her hair on top of her head she checked again on Olivia. Finding her still sleeping, somewhat peacefully she went to make another call.

"Hello."

"Liz?"

"What can I do for you Alex."

"I was wondering if I could take most of the day."

"Are you sick?"

"No, I just need a personal day."

"You have court at 1, correct." Liz asked almost curtly

"Yes and I'll be able to make it."

"Alright fine, make it to court and you are set."

"Thanks Liz."

"You're welcome, and Alex…"

"Yes?"

"Take care of her." Liz hung up.

Alex stared at the phone for a minute and shook her head, with a smile, before putting the phone back on the cradle. No sooner had her hand left the phone did it ring, she snatched it up on the half ring, hoping it didn't wake Olivia.

"Hello."

"Alex?" A voice asked.

"Hi Don." Alex said with a smile.

"Is Olivia okay?"

"She is sleeping right now. We had a rough night." Alex sighed.

"I figured as much. She was actually pretty quiet when she finally left last night." Cragen said in a fatherly tone.

"Yeah she filled me in on what happened. It took a while but she got through it. I'm not so sure how much more of this she can take Don. I'm worried about her, she's talking of quitting. But I also know that this is her life's work."

"She talked about that before she left here last night. I told her to take some time. Well I have to get back to work, El just came back. I can assume that you are taking most of the day off. Keep her safe Alex, she's special. So are you." Cragen told her before hanging up.

What was it with people hanging up before she could tell them she would take care of her.

On return to the bedroom she found Olivia starting to stir. She sat on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on her back. Olivia buried her head in the pillow before opening her eyes and looking at the blonde.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for work?" Olivia asked through a yawn.

"I only have to go in for court at 1 I'm all your's the rest of the day." Alex smiled down as she softly rubbed Olivia's back.

"That's not necessary." Olivia said into the pillow.

Alex stopped rubbing Olivia's back.

"Well if you're going to stay." Olivia playfully wined.

Alex resumed rubbing Olivia's back. Olivia smiled into the pillow.

"I made you an appointment for Dr. Mays," Alex mentally readied herself for anything Olivia might throw at her.

"Oh, I see." Olivia sat up, wincing a little as her shoulder moved slightly. "Why did you do that. I could have done it for myself." She looks at Alex, fire in her eyes.

"Look Olivia, I'm just trying to look out for you, I think it would be a good idea if you saw Dr. Mays today, I'm worried about you."

Olivia took a moment at looked into Alex eyes. The fire in her own vanished as she saw the compassion looking back at her.

"Okay, I'll go."

**/Later in the day/**

Alex and Olivia sat in the car on the way to Dr. Mays' office. The court proceeding should have only taken about 40 minutes had ended up lasting an hour and 15 minutes. This new defense attorney was driving Alex crazy. She even saw Judge Petrovsky roll her eyes once during his explanation of why he needed the house key in evidence, there was no need for it, and it had no barring on the case what so ever. If anything it proved that the defendant did rape the woman, because he could have gotten in the house. Alex just shook her head, returning her attention back to the task at hand; maneuvering through the first wave of rush hour traffic.

She pulled up in front of Dr. Mays office at 2:50 and dropped Olivia off while she proceeded to look for a parking place. After driving around the parking lot and garage for 5 minutes she found one, and ran into the building, it took her another few minutes to locate Dr. Mays office.

Olivia signed in when she got there. The receptionist smiled and thanked her giving her the canned response that Dr. Mays would be right with her. Olivia nodded and sunk into one of the uncomfortable waiting room chairs. She glanced at her watch and wondered what was taking Alex so long.

Olivia rested her elbow on the arm of the chair and placed her head in her hand, slouching into the hard-backed chair. She let the arm of her injured shoulder rest on her lap.

Alex came into the office then, taking a seat next to Olivia. She reached and picked up Olivia's hand. Olivia smiled weakly at Alex, she occupied her mind by playing with Alex's fingers, she loved how delicate they looked but how strong they really were.

Dr. Mays' stuck her head out of her office.

"Olivia."

As Olivia got up to follow the doctor Alex gave her hand a quick squeeze.

Olivia immediately sunk into the big black leather chair. Dr. Mays made her way around to her own chair.

"So Olivia, Alex made this appointment for you today. Do you have any idea why that might be."

Olivia shrugged, but winced at the action.

"What happened yesterday?"

"We had a bad case…" Olivia filled Dr. Mays in on what happened the previous day.

"Olivia, Olivia I want you to look at me." Dr. Mays tired to verbally draw the detective's eyes up.

"Olivia, you couldn't have done anything more. You tired to help, she did not want it. Sometimes there are people who just do not want help. Even in my profession."

"I just don't think that I can do this job anymore, everyone keeps telling me to take some real vacation time and not make any decisions while I'm on pain meds." Olivia pointed to her shoulder for more emphasis.

"Who is everyone?" Dr. Mays tilted her head to the side as she questioned Olivia.

"Alex and Captain Cragen." Olivia sighed.

"What do you think, do you think that a vacation would help."

"It might, but the job will still be here when I get back." Olivia shifted in her chair.

"What would you do if you were to stop working with SVU?"

"Maybe I would be a detective in another unit." She played with her hands.

"Olivia, what does your heart say, don't listen to your mind, just your heart."

"My heart says… that I was put here to help the victims that the SVU deals with. When I help someone I feel good. When I testify about the evidence I feel like I've made difference. When a perp is found guilty and the victim given a piece of mind, I feel like I've done my job."

"What do you feel like right now?"

"I feel like I'm lost inside myself. My nightmares are back….. they never left really. I feel like I can't carry on in this track at this time. I feel useless, scared, helpless. I don't like feeling vulnerable."

"Hmmm, Olivia I think I know what is happening here."

Olivia looked at Dr. Mays waiting for her to continue.

"I think that you are suffering from what we would call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It most likely has been brought on by the job. The things that you see everyday is rough on a person's stress levels. Now the events that have taken place in the last few weeks or month would not be connected to the PTSD, however they aren't really helping your situation. PTSD is not diagnosed until symptoms have presented themselves three months after the event or events. Do you understand?"

Olivia nodded.

"Now from what you tell about your mother, there might be some familial links to depression. I would probably say that your mother would have had problems even if she was not raped. So this could be classic depression that has been fueled by the events of the last while. Also it could be a combination of a lot of things."

Olivia nodded again, this was a lot to take in.

"We have to make some decisions. We can treat this with medication, it will take some time to get the dosages right. We would continue the therapy also. Or we just continue with therapy. However I highly recommend the medication, there is great success rates with it."

"I… this is a lot to think about. I'm not sure really what all this means. I get it I think, but its confusing. Are you saying I've had something wrong with me for a long time?"

"What I'm saying is the potential may have been there, but the events of the past few months, maybe years, have taken a toll on you."

Olivia rubbed her hand through her hair, "can… can Alex come in here?"

"If you want." Olivia nodded. "Okay let me just step out."

Dr. Mays went back out into the waiting room. Alex had been reading an outdated news magazine when she heard the door open, she looked up expecting to see Olivia but instead saw Dr. Mays.

"Alexandra Cabot?" Dr. Mays looked at her, she was the only one in the room.

"Yes." Alex answered as she stood, placing the magazine back on the side table.

"Could you come in here." Dr. Mays gestured toward the door.

"Of course," they both went in to the room.

Alex took a seat in the chair next to Olivia and Dr. Mays returned to her spot.

Dr. Mays and Olivia filled Alex in on the diagnosis and options.

Alex turned to Olivia when the explanation was complete.

"I knew last night, I saw something in your eyes I couldn't place, then later I remembered where I had seen it… when I was in the program I was diagnoses with PTSD from the shooting. I don't talk about it anymore because I wanted to leave it in the program, they eased me off the meds not long before I found out I could return, so it was easy to leave. The look in your eyes last night was the same look that use to greet me in the mornings before I got help, the feds paid for it."

"I never knew."

"The point was to leave it out, I just wanted to move away from it, however, Olivia the meds are a good thing, its hard at first but they help as you work through it."

"Okay."

"Olivia, ultimately it is your choice but I know that you have people that will help you no matter what you want to do. It will not effect your work, if anything once we get the medication on the right track you should be all set." Dr. Mays said after watching the exchange between the two women.

"Alright, lets do this I guess, I know in my heart that I need to help people and I can't help them the way I feel most of the time."

"Okay," Dr. Mays moved around her desk and unlocked some doors. "I'm starting you on a sampler of this anti depressant. Take two of these pills in the morning every day for the next 4 days, these are low dosage. After 4 days we will evaluate you, we will have to check blood work and all that fun stuff to make sure that it is not doing things it shouldn't be. We will adjust according to how you feel and how your tests come back. Okay?"

"Okay, thank you." Olivia said taking the packets.

"Thank you Doctor." Alex shook her hand as they got up to leave.

**/Back at Olivia's/**

"Are you mad I didn't tell you about what happened in the program?" Alex asked as they sat on the couch in the living room.

"No, I actually understand why you would want to leave that there." Olivia looked into Alex eyes. "But I'm glad you did decide to tell me, to help me."

"Me too." Alex sighed.

"Come here." Olivia held her arms open for Alex.

Alex slipped into Olivia's open arms and cuddled into the embrace. After a few nice quiet minutes Alex shifted so she could see Olivia's face, her focus was far away. She eased up and kissed her unsuspecting partner. Olivia reciprocated as soon as her head caught up to the happenings. Alex pulled away and whispered in Olivia's ear.

"Your pretty special."

She nestled back into the detective's warm embrace.

"So are you." Olivia answered as she rubbed Alex's back. They both drifted off to sleep they were emotionally exhausted.

**A/N**: I don't know much about PTSD or Depression, I'm still learning, so I know it's not correct, but that's why this is fiction. I think there might be a chapter 4…. Do you think there needs to be a chapter 4? I hope you Enjoyed!


	4. four

A/N: I apologize for this taking so long to get out there. Life kind of took some crazy turns since school let out. Fear not though I have not forgotten about this fic. I just didn't want it to be blah, when the rest of the series seems to be fairly decent. I hope you enjoy, thanks for being patient with me. I seem to be comma happy lately, so I apologize also for their randomness. I tried to catch as many as I could. (Really I do know the rules, I swear.) P

**Classes, Cases, and Chambers**

**4.**

**(5 months later)**

An early autumn thunderstorm flashed across the New York City Skyline. Alexandra Cabot watched, out the windows of her Manhattan apartment, as yet another flash of lightening brightened up the night sky. She had been awakened about an hour ago when the storm first started. As another rumble of thunder shook her surroundings Alex pulled the throw blanket tighter around her.

Ever since she was a child she had been afraid of the big storms. She would crawl into her parents' bed as a toddler and her father would hold her close as the storms raged. As she got older she would cling to her teddy or what ever was available. Her father would still come in and check on her. The memory of her father's compassion was a bittersweet memory, he had passed away not long after she had assumed her position as ADA for SVU, the first time. Even when she was away he would call and check on her if the storms were raging, even if they weren't where ever she was. She always missed her father most during these storms.

**/at the precinct around the same time/**

Detectives Stabler and Benson had been called onto a case early that evening and were finishing up some paperwork as the storm started.

Olivia had been eating dinner with Alex when the call came in. They had been discussing their plans for the weekend, which included moving into a new apartment. They had finally decided to take the leap and move in together. Now that Olivia was back on track emotionally they both decided that it would be a good time to take their relationship a step further. Alex had stood by Olivia through out her whole ordeal of getting the medications right and Olivia's ultimate decision to stay on with SVU. A decision that both Cragen and Elliot where very happy about.

Olivia had told Alex that she would be by in the morning to help start the move, she still had some stuff at her apartment to do. Now with the case those things might have to be put on hold. This irritated Olivia they had been trying to get their schedules clear for a month to accomplish the big move. Non the less this was where she needed to be at the present time.

As Olivia finished typing up her report another rumble of thunder shook the skies. She looked out into the night as the rain pelted down against the windows of the precinct. She sighed as she hit print.

As a child she loved the thunderstorms, sitting on her bed next to the window she would watch the fury in the sky. It was like the heavens where letting out their frustrations. She always wished she could let out her frustrations as well as the storms. The lightening she always found beautiful, lighting up the city in a whole new way. To this day she would go and watch the storms rage across the city. Standing in her apartment windows it was just like when she was a kid watching the storms from her bed.

She threw the report into the new file and plopped it on her desk. She could finish the rest on Monday; it was a simple case as far as reported rapes were concerned.

She slipped her arms through the sleeves of her jacket and bid Elliot goodbye. She was just going to head home to finish packing, but something was pulling at her gut. As she eased into the drivers seat of her car and thunder rolled across the sky it dawned on her. Alex! Alex once told her, on one of their long nights spent talking till sunrise, that she absolutely hated thunderstorms.

Putting the car into gear she slowly made her way to the ADA's apartment. The storm seemed to get worse with no sign of letting up as she made her way across town. Pulling into a parking spot as close to the building as she could at this time of night, she braced herself for the dash to the doors. She flung the door open and dashed toward the front doors of the building, slamming her door closed in the process.

She skidded to a stop under the overhang and hit the remote lock button for her car. She located the key to the building and let herself in. On the ride up to Alex's floor she took off her jacket and shook it. Taking her fingers she shook her hair free of excess water. Even though she hurried she was still fairly wet.

At Alex's door she again fished out her key and let herself in. Not wanting to disturb Alex if she actually was able to sleep through the storm. She shed her soggy shoes and went in search of dry clothes and her Lover.

/Inside Alex's Apartment/

Still sitting on the couch, Alex hugged her knees, as the storm seemed to intensify with no sign of stopping anytime soon.

She was so wrapped up in trying to keep herself calm she never heard the door open and close again.

Suddenly strong arms encircled her from behind. She tensed up for a moment until she recognized the familiar fragrance and touch of Olivia. She nestled into the warm embrace as Olivia got comfortable on the couch, pulling Alex down to cuddle.

"Hi." Olivia whispered.

"I thought you weren't coming till the morning." Alex said in a small voice.

"I couldn't leave you here with the storm, I came over as soon as I was finished with the report."

"How did you know about the storms?"

"You told me once, I remembered as I was getting ready to leave." Olivia kissed the top of Alex's head as she continued to hold the frightened woman.

"Thank you for remembering." Alex snuggled closer.

"Your welcome." Olivia soothingly stroked Alex's arms.

The storm continued to rage outside, as the two women continued to cuddle on the couch.

Alex would start to drift off but every blast of thunder would jar her awake.

"Shhh, Honey, go to sleep I won't let anything happen to you. You're safe in my arms. I promise." Olivia whispered.

Tears started flowing down Alex's face as Olivia whispered to her. She sniffled, prompting Olivia to adjust so she could look into Alex's eyes. Seeing the tears, Olivia brushed them away with her soft touch.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Olivia said worried.

"I…I miss my Dad." Alex stammered out.

"Shh. It'll be okay. I've got you." Olivia soothed.

Alex told the stories of how her father would protect her during the storms and how she missed him greatest even now during the big storms.

When she was finished Olivia hugged her close for a long time as she started to calm.

"Let's go to bed." Olivia suggested and helped Alex and her off the couch.

They both sleepily made their way into the bedroom and crawled into the already messed up sheets. Olivia let Alex nestle into her, wrapping her arms around her in a protective, loving manner. Olivia made sure Alex was asleep before letting herself drift off to sleep.

/The next morning/

Alex woke before her alarm was set to go off. She looked at the clock and saw that it was flashing 12:00. They must have lost power during the storm. She didn't want to move she felt so at peace. She was still nestled into Olivia's embrace. The detective was still sleeping. She loved to watch her Lover sleep, when she was free of all the stresses of life and the demons that still haunted her.

It was amazing how much Olivia had changed in the last few months. She was so much happier, happier then Alex remembered her being even before the whole Valez thing. Alex continued to muse on how happy they had become together and their impending move. This would prove to be a busy weekend. Elliot was coming over later to help with the hauling. The actual apartment was only across the street from Alex's current apartment building. It was larger and more appropriate for the two of them. She thought about what it would be like to grow old with Olivia, retire with Olivia, love Olivia forever. It made her happier then she could have ever imagined.

A soft kiss on the side of her head brought Alex back to reality. She smiled at Olivia, who smiled back and stretched.

"You looked like you were thinking serious thoughts councilor."

"Just thinking about us. About how much I love you."

"I love you too." Olivia said as she drew Alex in for a long sensual kiss.

As they drew apart Alex looked deep into Olivia's eyes and saw the passion that made her love the detective even more.

"If we get too wrapped up in bed here we are never going to get anything done this weekend."

"I know, and Elliot is going to be here at Noon with the kids to help us move." Olivia said as she drew Alex in for another kiss.

After a few minutes Olivia got up and headed to the shower, beckoning Alex to join her.

/around noon/

Knocking on the door drew Olivia and Alex out of their states of busyness. They had both been packing boxes for about an hour now, pushing them toward the door as they finished. The rooms had been all packed up with exception of the things that were needed that morning and now they too were packed away.

Olivia dusted her hands off on her jeans and opened the door. Elliot stood there with Maureen, Kathleen and Dickie.

"Hi Elliot. Kids." Olivia said as she stepped aside, letting them enter the living room.

"Hi Liv. You two all ready to go?"

"Yup, we just have to grab the stuff from the kitchen and we will be all set. By the way where is Lizzie?"

"She's got a cold, she said to say hi."

Alex came into the room just then from the bedroom where she was just finishing up with those boxes.

"Hi guys are you ready to help," She addressed Elliot's children.

"Sure are," replied Dickie.

While everyone grabbed a box, Olivia took a small item and ran across to the street to open up the new apartment and be there for when the first round of boxes came in.

/Later/

5 hours later and a slightly dented doorframe, from the couch, they had all of Alex's stuff safely put away. This still however left Olivia's stuff from her apartment across town. Seeing it was already dinnertime they decided to call it quits for the day and head out for pizza.

As the pizza was put on the table Olivia's cell phone started ringing.

"Benson…. Hi Cap…. Yeah… I suppose so…. How long do you think…. I see…. I'll be there…. Yeah he is here…. You really think so… we got his kids here too… alright yes sir… okay… I will." Alex, Elliot and the kids watched Olivia as she spoke into the phone, listening to her side of the conversation.

"What was that all about?" Alex questioned her as she served pizza to everyone from the steaming pan.

"We just got a case, the uniforms said that the victim's mother requested me."

"Really? What happened?"

"Well I'm not exactly sure, but it does require SVU that I do know."

Turning to Elliot she continued, "Cap said he wanted both of us on the case."

"What about the kids?" Elliot asked concerned.

"Well I could take them home after we finish pizza, we all shouldn't have dinner held off," Alex offered.

"Okay that sounds okay. How do you feel about that?" Elliot questioned his kids looking them each in the eye as he spoke.

Maureen, Kathleen and Dickie shared a quick silent sibling conversation and then nodded in unison.

"That's okay with us Dad." Kathleen voiced for the group.

"Okay well we better get going." Olivia and Elliot stood up and rushed out of the Pizza joint and off in the direction of the call in Elliot's car.

/a few hours later/

After dropping the Stabler kids off in queens, and talking with Kathy for about an hour Alex made her way back to the new apartment.

She glanced around the entryway just taking in the fact that this was hers and Olivia's. She decided to set up the office for a little while. After finally deciding where the desk would face and her plant would go she proceeded to the shower to wash away the grim of moving.

Now nice and refreshed she retreated to the living room.

Her dark gray couch called to her. She popped a DVD in the player and flopped down on the couch. As the movie got about a quarter of the way through she slid to a vertical position drawing the rusty red throw over the top of her. Her breathing changed as she drifted off to sleep.

This is how Olivia found her about two hours later. The TV was showing the DVD menu, and Alex was sound asleep. Olivia slipped out of her jacket, shoes, and crept into the bathroom, turning on the light only after she had quietly shut the door. She shed the rest of her clothes and stepped into a nice hot spray of water. She could never go to sleep after a case without taking a shower, it some how helped to cleanse some of the grime away from the job. As she began to relax she could tell that Alex had showered that evening, she had even left the top off of her body wash.

After donning a pair of sweats and a tank Olivia returned to the livingroom, locating the remote she shut off the TV and DVD player. She then carefully slid in behind Alex on the couch, spooning her. Alex sensing her presence pressed into her. Olivia let herself be lulled to sleep by the rhythmic breathing of her partner.

/the next morning/

Olivia woke with a start as her butt made contact with the hardwood floor. She ran her fingers through her hair as she sat up and took in her surroundings. Old familiar couch… new apartment. Alex? She stood in search of Alex. As she wound her way into the kitchen she found a note taped to the fridge: O- ran out for some coffee and muffins be back soon. – A.

Okay, Olivia thought. She was about to return to the couch when the door opened and in walked a sight to be seen. Alex, dressed in sweats and a t-shirt, drenched, holding 2 cups of coffee and a wet, white bakery bag.

"What on earth happened?" Olivia asked trying to suppress a laugh unsuccessfully.

"It started raining just as I got a block from the apartment." Alex growled as she set the goodies down on the counter.

"Oh, I didn't notice it had started." Olivia replied as she sneaked a glance out the window. Sure enough it was pouring. "Hmm yeah I see it is raining."

"I look awful, I can't believe it." Alex said as she rung her hair out over the sink.

Olivia slid her hands around her waist and turned her around, placing a kiss on her nose.

"You look fine Alex, at least you weren't dressed for court. I could just see Petrovsky now."

They both laughed at the thought of that. They both dressed and enjoyed their small breakfast.

A/N: Well I leave you here. The series has ended. I have enjoyed writing it. Perhaps in the future you will see another series of Broken Olivia (as I have come to call it). Peace to you all and thank you for reading and reviewing.

Lishbug


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